Music festivals are supposed to be places to have an enjoyable time.
Sometimes things can get out of control.
And a cop suffered one sick attack at a Florida music festival after a man did the unthinkable.
Florida man bites a cop’s head at a music festival inside a robot
James Michael Anderson, 37, was a volunteer at the Sol Festival in Ponce de Leon, Florida last May.
The festival featured electronic dance music (EDM) and attracted some concertgoers who were looking to get wild.
Festival organizers set up the DJ booth for the event in the stomach of a giant robot.
A Holmes County Sheriff’s Deputy who was working the event climbed up a ladder to get into the robot’s stomach.
Anderson followed the deputy because the DJ booth was supposed to be a restricted area at the event.
Tragedy struck when he went for the deputy’s gun and a fight broke out.
Anderson bit the deputy in the head, tearing off part of his scalp, and exposing his skull. Anderson was seen with hair in his mouth.
Sheriff’s deputies rushed in to help the wounded officer.
A Taser had to be used on Anderson because he had gone completely berserk.
The wounded sheriff’s deputy was taken to a local hospital after Anderson took a chunk out of his head.
Anderson was under the influence of “PCP, LSD, ketamine, mushrooms, and ecstasy,” according to the Holmes County Sheriff’s Office.
Festival attendee Autumn Cromer gave ABC affiliate WJHG-TV News an eyebrow-raising answer about the attack.
“It’s just part of how the world works and the universe works,” Cromer said at the time. “You can’t have good without the bad, but for the most part the festival was nothing but like higher vibrational people, people loving each other and supporting each other.”
Florida man learns a hard lesson about biting cops
Anderson pled guilty to aggravated battery on a law enforcement officer and was sentenced to six years in prison.
He will be on felony probation for 10 years once he gets out of jail and must pay restitution to the deputy.
Holmes County Chief Prosecutor Jacob Cook said that he had never seen anything like this before.
“Violence against our local law enforcement officers will not be tolerated, and criminals that make the choice to do so will be held responsible,” Cook said. “This is the most severe bite wound I have ever seen in my career as a prosecutor, and this defendant is going to spend the next several years in prison paying for his violent actions.”
The Holmes County Sheriff’s Office said that the deputy recovered from the bite wound and his back on the job.
Anderson’s attorney, Mitch Stone, called him a “gentle giant” who had never been violent before.
“He’s a farmer and a family man,” Stone told McClatchy News. “He’s not the type of guy to go looking for trouble.”
Stone also disputed that Anderson was under the influence of drugs.
Working at a musical festival in Florida can be like living out an episode of The Walking Dead.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this ongoing story.
